How online communities and social networks amplify word of mouth
Many of our clients and others we talk to are looking to use online communities or social networks to influence the word of mouth for their brand or product. They see the conversations that people are having about their brand, recognise that these are influential, and want to use them to impact positively on how people perceive them.
It’s true that online conversations are important sources of word of mouth. As Forrester told us earlier this year, 83% of people trust recommendations of peers or contacts and so harnessing the power of social networks and online communities can be powerful. Influencing this communication can reap serious rewards for an organisation in terms of influence and opinions about the brand, although it must, of course, be done correctly. Too many examples (such as the classic Wal-Marting across America) show the dangers of trying to influence word of mouth and failing.
At FreshNetworks we like to distinguish between social networks (a place I go to for me) and online communities (a place I go to for us). From a word of mouth perspective, both offer opportunities but in very different ways. Social networks are better for buzz and online communities for building something that is more sustainable.
Both buzz and sustainable word of mouth are valuable, but in terms of building brand and building engagement, it is the sustainable version that is more important. Buzz is great for pushing out a message, whereas the sustainable version creates the ongoing engagement and word-of-mouth that builds brand and contributes to the recommendations and referrals that are important in the online world.
So growing ongoing word of mouth is something all brands should be thinking about.
We’ve been asked by the Word of Mouth Association in the UK (WOM UK) to present our thoughts on this at one of their Espresso Briefings. We’ll be looking in more detail at social networks and online communities. Showing the benefits different organisations have had from engaging through social networks and online communities, how they can help engage customers and, critically, how they build advocacy and amplify word of mouth.
If you want to join us at the WOM UK Espresso Briefing on the 30th July then more details of how to register can be found here.
After the event I’ll post the slides on the blog for those who can’t make it.
